When we keep liking whatever our mind likes, we end up not liking ourselves

Suppose we keep eating whatever we feel like eating. When our indiscriminate eating makes us fat or sick, we end up not liking ourselves.

Gita wisdom explains that our present feelings are frequently determined by something within us that is different from us. That something is our mind. It is driven by a craving for instant pleasures, a craving that makes it dangerously fickle.

We ourselves are souls whose deepest aspiration is to love and serve our all-attractive Lord, Krishna, and relish eternal joy therein. Additionally, we long to make a meaningful contribution in this world according to the particular gifts and interests of our psychophysical nature.

Unfortunately, the mind’s fickleness works against both our long-term interests: spiritual and material. Suppose we embark on a spiritual path that we find appealing and uplifting. Or suppose we engage in a material vocation we find meaningful and fulfilling. Unfortunately, our mind is so fickle that its feelings will erode our commitment to either choice.

If we let ourselves be driven solely by our mind, it won’t let us persevere in anything, even something that we truly, deeply like. Its superficial dislikes will thus deny us of a fulfilling life, both materially and spiritually. Failing to do anything worthwhile in our life, we will end up detesting ourselves.

If we wish to grow steadily and holistically, we need to operate on a platform beyond our mind. Recommending such an intelligently-guided handling of the mind, the Bhagavad-gita (06.05) urges us to elevate ourselves with our mind, not degrade ourselves.

How can we thus elevate ourselves? By studying the Gita carefully and practicing bhakti-yoga diligently. Thereby, we access higher insight and taste that enable us to initially transcend the mind’s feelings and eventually transform them, thereby making the mind our friend.

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